Rise of Bali
by Siontix
Summary: Bali has always been a mere shadow of the Netherlands. Forced to submit to the great power and live on as a primitive tribe. With the world changing quickly, and empires beginning to consume more and more islands, the Royal Faction understands that the time to rise is here. Will Bali be able to rise up to the challenge and become one of the great powers of the world?


_This is a new short project I'm going to be working on. Given how fast I've been pulling out F-Zero: Seppuku chapters lately, I actually feel that I need to slow down just slightly so I don't begin to irritate any of my readers. However, I can't control my lust to write, but I also want to play Victoria II. Solution? I found that I should try mixing the two together. So, voila. Here's my first ever attempt at mixing Victoria II game play into literature._

_Tag along as I take control of the primitive pacific island nation of Bali and attempt to rise up in the world. Will I successfully rise up and become a world power by 1936, or will this all just be a feeble attempt, as I find myself suddenly controlled by the flag of Britain? This story should only last about a week at most. The interesting concept here, is that the story ends, if Bali ceases to exist. If I find myself annexed by another country, the story is over._

_Feel free to throw some recommendations my way as we venture. Perhaps if your recommendation seems plausible, I may give it a go (example; invade Japan.) At any rate, here's the first part to my history book themed story on Bali._

Chapter 1 - Bali emerges

1836-a great deal of time had now passed since the dark days of Napoleon Bonaparte and his many coalition wars. France remained one of the greatest global powers, alongside Prussia, Russia, Spain, the Ottoman Empire the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Each continent was filled with the barbaric concept of warfare, neither nation ever having true justification to send such brave men into battle.

The world primarily focused on the Germanic states, the Italian states, the many colonies of the United Kingdom, Russia's desire to conquer, and the colonization of Africa. Amongst all of these great powers, was a small island nation isolated in the pacific, taking on the name of Bali.

Bali was a primitive nation, forced to submit to their Dutch neighbors. Compared to the Dutch colonies that surrounded the isolated island nation, Bali was nothing but a waste of time. The Netherlands had muskets, while the military of Bali was comprised of more primitive weapons-such as arrows and the occasional flintlock. The kingdom of Bali was controlled by a monarchy with a very right-wing ideology. In size, Bali only had a population of 209,000-99% of which were illiterate.

Having hid behind the Dutch for long enough, the government of Bali found a decisive moment to finally reveal themselves to the world. With the Dutch distracted with European affairs-specifically their war with Belgium-the Netherlands had no time to concern themselves with Bali. If Bali had any chance of ever being recognized as a country internationally, they had to hurry, before the world would advance too far technologically. Without further hesitation, the grand objective to expand had been proposed to the House of Bali. Through various statistics and map planning, the Royal Faction of Bali approved the plan. By the 20th century, Bali would become one of the great nations of the world; or so the government hoped.

From January 20 to February 17, a fairly noticeable change in political influence had occurred. The fully conservative nation of Bali soon found itself falling into the hands of liberals, but still too far to be a risk to the Royal Faction. The idea of proposing reforms in order to form a more equal nation was initially thought to be a good idea, as this could only further advance the nation of Bali. However, the majority of the nation mutually continued to agree that keeping things the way they are was the correct path to take. Considering the Royal Faction was pro-military, it was only beneficial in the long run for the people of Bali to embrace the conservative ideology, as this was the key to expanding their territory.

May 1st, 1836-the government of Spain and the Netherlands had signed off with an alliance, agreeing to aid one another in terms of war. Given that the Netherlands surrounded Bali, and that Spain controlled the Philippines-which was above them-Bali felt surely threatened. In the event that the Netherlands declared war on Bali, there was only the hope of defending the mainland from a Dutch invasion. If Spain were to relocate their colony troops that were in the Philippines, Bali would surely fall victim to a successful invasion. In response to the sudden alliance, the Royal Faction of Bali decided that the time for invasion had to occur sooner than later.

After two months of planning, the Royal Faction proposed an official plan. On July 17, 1836, it was officially confirmed that Bali would soon find itself in a state of war with their fellow primitive neighbor-Brunei. While Brunei was indeed much larger than Bali, they lacked the needed military to fend off against Bali. Henceforth, the invasion of Brunei was looking favorably towards Bali; assuming that they make successful landfall on the island of Borneo. Brunei controlled the northern part of Borneo, but the Netherlands controlled the south. The center of Borneo had yet to be colonized on the account of the hazardous jungle.

Much later, January 9, 1837-two transport ships had been officially commissioned by the Royal Faction, which would bring the soldiers over to Borneo and begin the invasion. Unfortunately, the two ships were greatly delayed, as Bali lacked the much needed resources to create safe and efficient ships. While it was indeed possible to build ships out of the materials they had, they couldn't risk building ships that could easily be sunk. Also, ships were needed that could cope with the harsh conditions of ocean waves. Ultimately, the ships were delayed for the time being, thus angering the Royal Faction.

With the construction of the two transports at a complete halt, the Royal Faction became frantic that their plan of invasion would soon be discovered by their neighbors. After a long year of fearing the Dutch, an idea was proposed to the House of Bali; an idea that had never been considered previously. Rather than labeling the Netherlands as a rival, officials from Bali arrived in Dutch colonies in an attempt to improve relations between the two nations. Ultimately, this was successful. While the Dutch still refused to acknowledge Bali as anything more than a tribal island, they did turn a calm expression towards the Balinese. Of course, becoming good friends with the Netherlands was not part of the longterm plan. The Royal Faction did decide, however, to milk out these good relations by opening trade opportunities with them.

While Bali continued to prepare for inevitable war with Brunei, a very strange event had occurred far across the globe. In May of 1838, the government of France and Sardinia-Piedmont had declared war on Two Sicilies-the Italian state. France desired to liberate the kingdom of Italy from Two Sicilies-but to the disapproval of many other Italian states. Most of the world watched as France marched into Italy. Surprisingly, this war had a slow start, as France had merely sunk their ships and proceeded to blockade them. Since the other Italian states refused to give France transit rights through their territory, France could only enter Two Sicilies from the water.

In September of 1938, Bali had been greatly surprised. They of all nations had received a massive shipment of flintlock rifles from the Dutch, likely because of their positive relations. Dismay soon struck the Balinese, however, as the nation soon found themselves stacked with weapons they had no idea how to use. Ultimately, Bali now had hundreds of flintlock rifles-but no one qualified to use them. As great as a gift this was, Bali would simply need to set these new weapons aside and rely on primitive weapons for the time being. One thing was for certain, however. The Balinese had no plan on returning this bountiful shipment.

It had now been nearly two years since the Royal Faction requested that two transport ships be built. After two long years, the only thing that had been built up was frustration. After all of these years, only 0.5% of _one_ ship had been built. The government was furious. At this rate, it would take nearly 400 years for a single transport ship to be built. Naturally, the plan was to invade Brunei soon, not in the year 2238. Ironically, shortly after having become outraged by this lack of work, a shipment of supplies had been brought to Bali in exchange for much money. January 21st, 1839, the first transport ship was officially under a speedy process of construction.

While Bali now had a military prepared for the invasion, and a ship under construction, more international issues had occurred. While France continued to duel Two Sicilies, the Russian Empire decided to enter a state of war as well. February 1st, 1839, Russian soldiers had entered Manchuria with the intention of splitting Manchuria in half. The world was caught off guard by this invasion, but was in no position to intervene. Inevitably, the Manchurians would fall, leaving Russia bordering both Manchuria and Korea.

Later in April, joyous celebration had occurred in Bali as the first transport had lifted anchor for the first time. The Royal Faction was pleased to see a Balinese ship setting sail successfully, and fortunately, the second ship was now under construction. In late July, the second transport had been completed, thus finalizing the requirements to pull off such a war against the primitive nation of Brunei. With all armies ready, and two ships prepared, the military began to draw out their plan for attack.

October 25, 1839-the final draft of the invasion plan had been complete. Two ships would send Balinese armies to the uncolonized jungles of Borneo, where they would then march north into the jungles of Brunei. There wasn't a single shred of doubt that many men would die merely fighting the diseases and wildlife of the massive jungle-but this was a sacrifice the Royal Faction was willing to make. In the long run, all that mattered was that the government got what they wanted.

It was in early May that the armies of Bali had officially loaded up on the ships, now prepared for war. Considering this would be a war fought between two primitive nations, everyone knew what to expect. There would be warriors, not soldiers. 18,000 men had been gathered up in total, which made up a large portion of Bali's population. Losing all 18,000 in war would inevitably doom the Royal Faction and would likely lead to a surge of power for the liberals. Losing this war was out of the question. While fighting Brunei would likely be an easy task, the biggest struggle would be coping with the jungles. After many years of planning, it had finally happened. June 30, 1840, the government of Bali had declared war on the Brunei and immediately landed 11,000 troops inside of the uncolonized jungles of Borneo.

4 months had passed with little word of the 11,000 soldiers. After many months of worrying, it had only just been revealed to the nation of Bali that the army had finally escaped the unexplored jungles of Borneo. Unfortunately, many men had already been lost, as predicted. The army had finally escaped from this jungle, but unfortunately, immediately found themselves faced with yet another jungle. October 19, 1839, the Balinese entered the jungle of Kuching. No soldiers of Brunei had been found in the jungle, but they indeed came across another enemy, arguably, worse than enemy soldiers. Inside of the jungle they found many more diseases and insects that left many dead. Unfortunately, the army would be forced to remain in this jungle until they had it fully secured. Once secured, however, they could build small fortifications that would protect them from the terrible jungle environment. While the Balinese soldiers were sick, starving, and lost; the army of Brunei sat nervously many miles to the northeast in the capital village.

The Royal Faction understood that these were unforgiving conditions, so they opened up a new risky plan. In order to force the enemy out of submission, the military had devised a plan to send an army of 5,000 men to attack from the northeast-mere miles from the capital. The Balinese men in the Kuching jungle continued to starve, but was finding success, nonetheless. January 24th, 1840, 5,000 Balinese soldiers landed in the plains of Api, mere miles from the capital. This opened up a two front war, however, just like the jungle in the west, this new army would need to secure the region under Balinese control. Fortunately, securing plains would be much easier to do than securing a jungle. Henceforth, progress was going much faster in Api than in Kuching. Regardless of the speed difference, the army in Kuching would likely finish securing the jungle first.

Many more months went by, but through teamwork and quick building, the jungle of Kuching had been secured as early as July. The army in Api was close to finished in securing the region, but still had to set up improvised docks on the shore. That way, the eastern invasion could be supplied by Balinese ships. Before the operation in Api could finish, the western army had already moved into the central region of Brunei, which brought them to a much different scenery at long last. They now found themselves with the task of securing the hilly terrain of Bintulu-Brunei's largest region. Despite it being a war, the army of Brunei remained in the capital, waiting for the Balinese armies to finally arrive for one bloody battle.

By early August of 1840, Api had been successfully secured by the western armies, which officially created a secure two front war. By now, Brunei's chances of winning were declining greatly. The jungles had greatly hurt the Balinese, but didn't stop them from marching into the hills. While the western army proceeded to settle down in the hills, the eastern army stood their ground in Api, ensuring that the army of Brunei wouldn't retreat to the east. The invasion had now been going on for a year, and in total, 1,500 soldiers had died merely fighting off diseases in the jungles. Many had merely become lost in the jungle, and would remain their until their inevitable death. Brunei had yet to lose a single soldier, but with 10,000 soldiers surrounding their capital-this would soon change.

Meanwhile in Europe, France's war with Two Sicilies continued to rage on. To great surprise, however, the table had now changed. For many years, France had Two Sicilies on their knees, but after so many years, exhaustion had begun to build up in the French. Around October, it was generally agreed by everyone but France and Sardinia-Piedmont that the war was no longer going in their favor. A French defeat against such a small foe would be humiliating and likely incur a massive loss of prestige in their empire. While the Italians had no way of actually attacking France, only time would tell whether France would throw the white flag or not.

Bali had been mainly distracted with the war in Brunei, but the Royal Faction had soon been shocked as troubling news had reached the capital. A rumor had spread into the island that the Netherlands had been secretly fabricating a casus belli to invade the primitive nation of Atjeh-another neighbor of Bali, and a potential target for invasion. Outraged, any plans of allying with the Netherlands in the near future had been immediately abandoned. While the Dutch and Balinese remained at a cordial relationship, this demonstration of Dutch imperialism had easily strained their relationship yet again. Whether the Netherlands would go on and use this casus belli to invade Atjeh would ultimately be where Bali's opinion on the Dutch would change. Abandon or use it, Bali's views on the Netherlands would reflect on this alone.

Months had passed, and on April 8, 1842, the hilly terrain of Bintulu had been secured. Unlike the jungle, no men had been lost from diseases. Brunei was now almost under full control. At long last the time had come, with the capital completely surrounded, the Balinese were given the order to attack. The western army moved in towards the capital, the eastern army stood its ground in Api.

On April 20, 1842-the battle had begun. The demonic war crying of 10,000 Balinese soldiers could be heard as they charged towards their enemy. With only 3,000 men to defend with, the soldiers of Brunei were left trembling. One army of 5,000 charged from the center, while another charged from the right flank. Their general was incompetent, thus, had no idea how to counter against such an attack. The only benefit Brunei had on their side was that the Balinese had to cross a river.

Using this to their advantage, the men of Brunei shrieked war cries into the air and charged towards the river. The Balinese had to cross through wooden bridges, which was ultimately the only penalty they incurred. Initially, the men of Brunei managed to take down a good amount of Balinese soldiers with ranged weapons. But once the armies of Balinese made it past the river, not a single man on Brunei's side was left with confidence. With one final prayer to their Gods, the men entered combat with each other.

Decapitated heads flew, bodies fell, blood would spray from the necks of soldiers, faces were maimed, and many were pinned to the ground by blades. The 3,000 men fighting for Brunei stood their ground for as long as they could, but it was no use. The center attack kept them busy, but the right flank of 5,000 men easily swarmed in and butchered the men up like vegetables. The battle didn't even last a month.

In merely 8 days, the final soldier that fought for Brunei fell to his knees, falling into a puddle of his own blood-along with the blood of his brothers. All 3,000 soldiers had fallen, but in total, only 266 Balinese soldiers had died. Ironically, the army of Brunei did less to the Balinese than the jungles. The jungles killed x5 as many soldiers as the defending army did. Ultimately, this was a victory to be celebrated, and a day to mourn for the families of the 3,000 soldiers. Despite all soldiers being destroyed, resistance continued, and securing the capital village would take time.

While Bali enjoyed an easy victory over their enemy, in North America, Mexico had been hit by surprise-and by the one nation no one would ever want to fight. July 4th, Independence Day, 1842-the United States of America declared war on Mexico, demanding that they hand over Nevada-Utah, which Mexico had controlled since the beginning. Bali had no concerns of the United States, but was indeed opposed to the idea of nation expanding. Ultimately, Bali was in support of Mexico, and desired for the United States to fail in the war. Considering the extreme strength of the United States, losing a war was unlikely for them.

Finally, on the 1st of August, 1842-the war had come to an end in Brunei. After months of securing the capital, the Balinese found and executed the resisting leaders of Brunei. With no leaders left for Brunei, and a village under complete Balinese control, the call to end the war was up to the Royal Faction-and they didn't hesitate to enforce their demands.

In the end, August 1st, 1842 would be known as the day that Bali had expanded and conquered Brunei. Bali was no longer a mere island, rather, it was now a massive nation full of jungles. The jungles would likely be what Bali used against their enemies in the future, just as Brunei did. There was unexplored land to the south for Bali to now attempt to colonize, but alas, the Netherlands had land in Borneo as well just to the south. The question was now raised, who would end up colonizing the jungles of Borneo first-Bali or the Netherlands.

This was a grand victory for the Balinese, but not much of importance to the rest of the world. Until the day that the Balinese conquered a civilized nation, no nation would ever waste time with Bali. In order to be recognized as a nation, Bali had a few things left to do. First, was to technologically advance and discover more modern tools. Second, they needed to prove their strength to the world, but not in a way that would provoke a great power to invade the primitive nation. Bali now has a good start.

Aside from Bali, France is losing to Two Sicilies, Russia finds itself fighting Manchuria and China, and the United States now wages war with Mexico. 6 years has already passed, 58 left until the entry of the 20th century. Will Bali continue to strive and one day make its way into the spotlight of important nations? Or will they eventually collapse…

To be continued!


End file.
